Aika Plane of Coiling Dragon

In the Aika plane of the Coiling Dragon world, deep within the Magic Beast Forest, a Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear had long been guarding a holy fruit capable of strengthening its beastly physique.

For reasons unknown, its neighbor, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, discovered this treasure and came knocking on its door today.

"Erdos, don't push your luck."

"Hmph, you big blockhead. Hand over the holy fruit, and I'll leave."

The Purple-Striped Black Bear was also a Saint-level magic beast, and it had even comprehended a sliver of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws of Darkness. Originally, it was worried about the safety of the holy fruit and didn't want to get too entangled with this fellow Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Hmph, Erdos, since you're courting death, don't blame me!"

"Enough talk, the holy fruit is mine."

With that, the Tyrannosaurus Rex charged toward the Purple-Striped Black Bear. Among all dragon-type Saint-level magic beasts, it possessed the greatest strength and the most powerful bite force. Relying on its decent defense, it made its neighbor, the Purple-Striped Black Bear, unable to do anything about it.

Facing the charging Purple-Striped Black Bear, a flash of cunning triumph appeared in the Tyrannosaurus Rex's eyes. It swept its tail across, and as expected, the Purple-Striped Black Bear dodged it with the same ease as in their previous battles. The tail attack just now was not its true killing blow.

Ha, this big blockhead really fell for it.

Thinking this to itself, the Tyrannosaurus Rex opened its blood-red maw wide at the spot where the Purple-Striped Black Bear was about to leap. In its eyes, this big, clumsy bear was clearly about to perish within its giant jaws.

In a place it couldn't see, the Purple-Striped Black Bear's pale face was filled with mockery.

"Shadow Clone!"

After the Tyrannosaurus Rex heard these words, its tail, which had already been swung, and its jaws, which were already snapping shut, were too late to defend.

The Purple-Striped Black Bear that it had bitten into turned into a mere phantom, and at that moment, the massive body of the real Purple-Striped Black Bear appeared above the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head. With just one punch, the Tyrannosaurus Rex lost its life.

Before its soul was dragged to the Netherworld, its face was still filled with disbelief.

"Hmph, I am not some idiot like you who only knows how to improve its body."

The face of the bear, which everyone perceived as dull and clumsy, now radiated wisdom and mockery. It calmly took the Saint-level Magic Beast Core belonging to the Tyrannosaurus Rex from its head.

After weighing it in its paw, it flew toward its lair. Unfortunately, as it approached, it discovered that the human ant it had sensed earlier was lying inside.

Previously, the human had been nothing more than an ant in its perception, but now, the person was radiating a pressure that seemed capable of crushing its soul. It had seen gods before, and this terrifying pressure was stronger than any god it had ever encountered.

This made the Purple-Striped Black Bear, Nis, afraid to even get close. After hesitating for a moment, it gave up on the idea of entering the cave!

Matthews lay there for two days and one night. When he woke up, he felt extremely thirsty and hungry.

"No choice, I'll eat first and worry later."

Starving, Matthews had no choice but to eat the fruit that had been radiating the light of life. Only now did he stand up to inspect the cave; it seemed to be the den of some large creature.

"Thank goodness, my life was spared. This large creature didn't return!"

What Matthews didn't know was that the "large creature" he spoke of was the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear of the Coiling Dragon world. Furthermore, it had already visited while he was lying there and had observed him from outside the cave for a while.

If his body hadn't been adapting to the Laws of the Coiling Dragon world, and if the Golden Lotus in his soul sea hadn't helped him pull through by absorbing Sovereign Power—thereby helping his body fully adapt to the Laws of Coiling Dragon—he would have long since become a pile of bear dung.

If those wisps of escaping Sovereign Power hadn't scared away the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear outside, he would have been dead.

"So warm!"

After eating the fruit, Matthews felt a warmth in his stomach, and a surge of power spread throughout his body. However, he lacked any cultivation techniques from the Coiling Dragon world, so the fruit he had consumed was effectively wasted.

Because his body had adapted to the Laws and been strengthened by the Sovereign Power, it had reached the limit of what a human could achieve, becoming a Rank 6 warrior!

Leaning on the Sovereign Artifact Death Scythe, which he used as a walking stick, Matthews exited the cave.

"So comfortable. Time to find something to eat."

Matthews stretched, then headed off in one direction.

Having learned his lesson, he had become cautious. He only drank dew and made sure to roast whatever he ate.

One morning, Matthews practiced a set of the farm-style martial arts he used to train in, preparing to continue his journey.

At this moment, some members of a mercenary group spotted Matthews. In their eyes, Matthews was a complete novice; he actually dared to light a fire and roast food in such a dangerous place as the Magic Beast Forest.

The captain sensed him for a moment but found no fluctuations of magic or Battle Qi on Matthews.

The leader of the Mad Python Mercenary Group was a Rank 7 warrior, and his group was powerful, boasting a Rank 6 mage among his subordinates. He turned to a Rank 6 female mage beside him and asked, "I didn't sense any Battle Qi on him. Did you sense any magic?"

The female mage shook her head. Although she was a water-style mage not particularly skilled in perception, she also couldn't sense any magical energy on this strange human.

Just after hearing that neither the mercenary captain nor the mage could sense the other's strength, a Rank 5 earth-style mage asked, "Boss, what should we do? Kill him?"

A sharp-featured Rank 5 warrior looked at Matthews. Although Matthews' clothes were tattered, his skin was fair. After observing him for a moment, he noticed that his hands and feet didn't look like those of a laborer.

Although Matthews had been a farm boy, he came from a peaceful era. The college students of that time were all fair-skinned youths.

Furthermore, his skin, which had been burned by lightning, had been repaired as he adapted to the Laws. A body touched by Sovereign Power naturally possessed an aura more noble than that of ordinary life.

Although this aura had dissipated quite a bit over time, weak humans could not feel it. However, the spiritual senses of magic beasts and animals were far higher than those of humans, so they would certainly feel this oppressive sensation.

This was the reason he had been able to make it out of the core area of the Magic Beast Mountain Range to this place so safely.

The sharp-featured warrior leaned toward their captain and said, "Boss, looking at that delicate skin, he must be a noble."

"Ew—"

Hearing him say this, the water-style mage clearly showed disgust and moved away from the warrior. The warrior also realized that everyone was looking at him strangely, so he quickly added, "Boss, I mean we should take him to the city. Sell him to an auction house and make a killing."